Dealing with China

Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 02:10

Jan 20 - As Chinese President Hu continues his visit to the US, China has already announced plans to buy billions of dollars of U.S. goods, but concerns remain about U.S. China trade relations. Bobbi Rebell reports.

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China is putting business first as its President Hu Jintao visits the US this week. Already $45 billion of business has been announced- with expectations of more to come.
China President Hu Jintao:
SOUNDBITE: CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO (ENGLISH TRANSLATION) SAYING:
"China wants to work with the United States to forge a framework of broader and stronger economic cooperation. We can carry out fiscal, financial and business cooperation on a larger scale."
One of the recipients of the Chinese business deals was General Electric. The company says the various ventures will generate $2 billion in revenue over the next decade.
GE CEO Jeff Immelt:
SOUNDBITE: JEFFREY IMMELT, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC, (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"They do a lot of things well. There is so much progress being made and it's going to be the biggest economy in the world. The only question is when. But they are on a trajectory that is hard to deny."
And that's why Immelt is keeping a close eye on the Asian consumer:
SOUNDBITE: JEFFREY IMMELT, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, GENERAL ELECTRIC, (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"The American consumer will always be important but for the next 25 years it's probably not going to be the engine of global growth - it's going to be the billion people joining the middle class in Asia."
The deals announced so far are expected to generate 235,000 American jobs.
But some believe the U.S. could do a lot better.
Professor Stuart Diamond of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the best selling negotiations book "Getting More", says the U.S. message to China should be:
SOUNDBITE: STUART DIAMOND, PROFESSOR, THE WHARTON SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA/ AUTHOR, "GETTING MORE" (ENGLISH) SAYING:
"You got the money- we want the jobs. It's very nice to get 4,700 jobs for General Electric for engine technology and it's very nice to get some more jobs for energy partnerships but there is much more out there. They got much more in the kitty and we should be asking for it. "
In fact, new data show China's economy sped up at the end of last year; growing at a faster than expected rate of 9.8 percent in the fourth quarter- a reminder of the country's growing economic power.
Bobbi Rebell, Reuters